Shire of Plantagenet receives State Government grant to increase dam capacity to ‘waterproof’ town

The Shire of Plantagenet has received a State Government grant to increase the capacity of a dam to provide water security for Mt Barker.

The Shire will receive $75,371 in funding to almost triple Frost Park Dam’s capacity from 5000kL to 14,000kL.

The water will be used to water parks, gardens and sports grounds in the Shire, and was a key objective of the Shire’s 2020 Water Management Strategy.

Water from the dam will also be used as an emergency source for livestock drinking water for farms during dry periods and also for firefighting use.

Shire president Chris Pavlovich said the grant would “waterproof” the town of Mt Barker.

“We aim to have well over two years of water in reserve at any one time to insulate from future drought and climate change,” Mr Pavlovich said.

“It’s for our parks and gardens, to ensure that we’re not drawing on scheme water which is obviously too valuable to tip on grass.

“We’re fortunate to be far enough south that we do get good rains most years and we just need to capitalise on that for the odd one in 10 or one in 20 years where we don’t get enough rain to sustain our demand in Mt Barker.”

Warren-Blackwood MLA Jane Kelsbie described the grant program as a “great initiative”.

“By ensuring we take full advantage of stormwater runoff, we can reduce the need to use valuable town scheme water supplies at standpipes for emergency livestock and community use.”

The funding is part of the $3.2 million Community Water Supply Partnership Program, a collaboration between the Commonwealth and Western Australian Governments